Searching for Something New
by littlepenguingrl
Summary: Feeling left out and lonely on vacation with her friends and their boyfriends, Raye wishes for some excitement and a little bit of romance on the side. Can Chase, a hotel worker, be the one to make all her wishes come true? Please R
1. Let the Fun Begin

" Hurry up, Raye! We don't want to miss the shuttle to our hotel," said Amy. Greg and her  
were walking arm in arm in front of me. Today was the start of summer vacation, and the  
nine of us were staying in sunny California until school started up again. The other four  
girls had been planning this vacation for months with their boyfriends ever since Amy had   
won some brain contest and the prize was a big sum of money. They invited me along, even   
though they knew I'd be the odd man out (Hey, it's not my fault I didn't have some stupid  
guy to hang off of like they did!)and I just couldn't pass up a free trip to California.   
  
We all boarded the shuttle, with me being squeezed into the back row with Serena and   
Darien. They were kissing and play fighting for awhile. I watched the scenery pass by,   
but that wasn't enough to drown out their playful moods. With a heavy sigh, I put on my   
headphones and let some heavy metal drown them out. This was going to be such an annoying  
summer for me, since I'd be surrounded by couples all the time. Bring on the fun I thought  
as we pulled up to the hotel.  
  
The place was humongus, with tons of swimming pools and other activities to do. We didn't  
even need to leave the hotel to go do something. " This is so grand," exclaimed Mina as   
she studied one of the many paintings on the wall. While Amy checked us all in, I sat down  
in one of the large, comfy chairs in the lobby. Lita and Ken, who had finally gotten   
together a few months ago, wandered around the lobby, poking their heads into every   
giftshop that they could. I watched all the people running around the lobby, half of them   
employees and the other half visitors. Some older couple started talking to Serena and   
Darien, which for some reason set those two off into a giggle fest. Darien kept trying to   
tickle her, while she ran away, almost knocking over one of the workers moving luggage   
into a room. They just laughed and started up kissing, again.  
  
"Poor Darick. Those morons really should watch where they're going. And for goodness   
sakes, get a room! At least they're in the right place for one..."  
  
I turned around to see who had said that. Some tall guy around my age with blonde hair and   
pretty green eyes stood almost next to me, shaking his head at them. He wore a big grin,  
knowing that they hadn't ment any harm. " Hey, before you head up, can you take those to  
room 146, Chase," the big guy with the mustache at the front desk questioned. " Consider   
it done," the guy behind me said as he picked up Mina and Jaime's luggage. As he walked   
around me, he smiled and raised an eyebrow in my direction, before laughing and taking   
the luggage over to the elevators.  
  
A few minutes passed by before we were all in an elevator, heading up to our rooms.   
" Let's all meet up for lunch at noon," Mina sugguested as we split up to go find our   
rooms. Lucky for me, I got an individual room. Finally some peace and quiet, no more   
kissing couples I thought as I opened up the door to my room. I walked over to the large  
window facing the ocean, opening it to let the breeze blow in. In all honesty, I was  
extremely jealous of the others. My life had been so boring since they all had started   
dating. They never had time for me anymore, always busy with their boyfriends. The one  
reason I wanted to come on this vacation was to get away from Japan and try new things.  
I was hoping to do something new and exciting. " Can't do that in this room," I said to  
myself. I combed through my hair quickly and threw it up in a bun. I examine myself in   
the mirror before I headed out the door to find somthing to do for the last few minutes   
before noon.  
  
I got lost in the hallway trying to find the elevator. The numbers just kept changing,   
but the elevator never came. Totally frusturated and unsure of what to do, I turned   
down what had to be the 60th hallway in the last twenty minutes. I stopped suddenly,  
hearing a voice coming from a room up ahead of me. With a sigh of relief at finding  
another person again, I walked briskly towards the sound. As I got closer, I realized  
that it was a male's voice, and they were singing a Mighty Mighty Bostones song.  
I hit room 193 and found the door cracked open half way. I poked my head in as I knocked  
on the door. The singing continued, so I walked into the room. Fluffing up one of the  
blue pillows from the bed stood the guy from the lobby. He turned around and looked over  
at me, continuing to sing. I felt embarrased for the guy, being caught singing and all.  
He pulled off his headphones, but for some reason continued on with the last verse of   
the song with me standing right there. " Great song, you know," he said while resting the  
pillow back at the top of the bed.  
  
" Right...I got lost and couldn't find the elevator..."  
  
" No worries. I did the same thing for the first week that I started working here. I'm  
getting off work now anyways, so I'll show you where it's at, Raye."  
  
" How do you know my name?!?"  
  
" Non chaque jour vous voyez une jolie fille comme vous."  
  
" What?"  
  
" Folloe me this way...That's French, by the way. You'll have to figure out what it means   
later if you truely want to know (grins)"  
  
" Whatever..."  
  
" So, where's your significant other? I noticed all your friends had one."  
  
" Um...I don't have one. Why?"  
  
" Just asking. Do you and your friends have plans for tonight?"  
  
" No.."  
  
" You should go check out the sun lounge tonight at seven. Great band playing there   
tonight. I highly recommend it."  
  
" Really?"  
  
" Yup. Oh look, we're at the elevator already( presses down button). Next time, take a   
left from your room instead of a right. It's a straight shot from there."  
  
" Thanks for everything, um... I forgot your name.."  
  
" Chase (points to name tag on red uniform). Have a good day, Raye."  
  
I watched him as he walked down the hall, singing to himself until he was out of sight.  
He actually did have a pretty good voice, but I felt embarrased for walking in on him  
while he was singing earlier. The elevator finally arrived as I got in, ten minutes late  
now for lunch.  
  
The gang was waiting in the lobby for me. " Where ya been, Raye? It's already ten after,"  
whined Serena.   
  
" Got lost."  
  
" How'd you find your way then?"  
  
" I ran into this guy... He helped me."  
  
" Good. Now, let's go get lunch, I'm starving!"  
  
" When aren't you, Serena?"  
  
" Hey, guys..."  
  
" Yeah, Raye?"  
  
" Do we have plans for later tonight? There's a good band playing here tonight."  
  
I never really did get an answer from them. As we waited for seats, my mind wandered back to Chase. He was unlike any  
guy I had ever met before. He was cute, kind, but different from all of the usual guys that I knew. I repeated to Amy what   
he had said to me in French, and she said she'd look into it. We were seated shortly afterwards. I saw Chase walk by the   
outside windows shortly into the first course. He had changed out of the hotel's uniform and was wearing a black shirt and   
sunglasses. He ran a hand threw his messed up hair. He then noticed me watching him, but just smiled and walked on   
down the street. 


	2. Dancing the Night Away

6:30 rolled around and I found myself watching some lame talk show on the tv in my room.   
Some couple was having problems getting along and decided to talk trash about each other  
on national tv. Fed up with all that junk, I rolled off the bed and turned the tv off. I  
walked over to the closet and pulled out a red tank top and blue jean shorts. I tamed my  
wild half ponytail and then was on my way downstairs to find the sun lounge. I made a   
quick stop at Mina's room becuase she had wanted to go.  
  
" One second, Raye!" Mina yelled out from behind her door after I knocked. The door opened  
a minute later and out came Mina. She blew a kiss back into the room behind her and shut  
the door with a small giggle. " Won't this be fun, Raye? Just the two of us hanging out!   
Jaime would come, but he's going out to play some golf with the other guys. He looked sooo  
adorable in those little golf outfits (giggles again)." I just nodded in response, hoping  
that inviting Mina along wouldn't be another bad idea.   
  
We found the sun lounge with no trouble at all. We walked in twenty minutes before the   
show was to start. We took two seats up near the front, right next to the small dance   
floor. About one-third of the seats were taking up by people ranging from all ages. The   
sound techies were on stage right now, setting up amps and mics. To my suprise, Chase   
walked on a minute later and started testing out the instruments. After the drums were   
all set, he picked up a red guitar and started playing Black Sabbath's "Iron Man". I few   
of the middle aged people and younger started grinning when they recognized the song.   
After finishing up on the bass, he walked off stage again with five minutes to spare   
before the show would start.  
  
" Ooooooo, that one dude was kinda cute, Raye! I just love these California grown boys."  
  
" They aren't fruit, Mina."  
  
" Oh, Raye! Lighten up!"  
  
I just rolled my eyes. Seconds later, the lights faded and the band came onstage. The   
audience applauded after the band announced who they were and started playing. The music  
wasn't bad; they played all genres of music and a few people even got up and started  
dancing. " Hey, check it out," Mina whispered to me while trying to hold back laughter.  
I followed her gaze over to the dance floor. Chase was dancing with some women,who had to  
be in her late 80s, to an old- fashioned swing song. They were enjoying themselves   
completely and all the other grey-haired grannies wanted a turn with him. I couldn't help  
but smile as he twirled his current partner around in circles.  
  
The band then started announcing that they were going to do a slow song next. Chase then  
glanced over in my direction. " Oooooooo," Mina cooed as he started walking over. I   
quickly elbowed her, trying to get her to stop. " Tanz mit mir, Raye," he said as he   
grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet. " More French?" I questioned as he led me over   
to the dance floor that was slowly filling up with couples as the music started.   
  
" No, German this time."  
  
" Geez, are you some language geek or something?"  
  
" Something like that. Your friend seems quite content on watching us."  
  
" Mina? She's just...uh...I'm sure she's just watching everyone dancing."  
  
" Who's the guy?"  
  
" What guy?"  
  
" The one with her now?"  
  
" Oh, it's Jaime. The guys must have came back from golf."  
  
" Really...Since she's now occupied, come with me."  
  
" What? Where?"  
  
" You'll see. Just trust me," he said with a knowing smile on his face. He pulled me out   
of the room and through the lobby. He then held open the front door for me as I walked  
through, unsure of where to go. " This way," he said as he pushed my back forward. We  
walked a little ways to a small parking lot marked 'Employee's Parking Only'. He strolled  
up to a big black truck and pulled out a set of keys. I stopped, not sure that I trusted  
him enough yet. " Come on, Raye. I'm not gonna pull anything on you," he said to me, a  
look of concern showed in his eyes, " you can trust me." I looked at him for a second,   
but he never moved his eyes away from my stare. Finally, I nodded and got into the   
passenger side, relying on my skills from working at the temple if in case he tried to   
pull anything. He glanced over at me with another one of his smiles, before starting the   
engine and pulling out of the parking lot.  
  
We drove on a curvy road next to the ocean. He took the road a little too fast for my  
liking, but he never seemed to notice. He let his hand rest gently outside of his window,  
letting it ride the air currents while the wind blew his hair around. By now, the sun had  
set and the stars started to shine through the night sky. Chase slowly pulled the car over  
to the side of the road and turned the ignition off. I started to get worried when I   
didn't see anything in sight except for the ocean and a deserted beach on both sides of   
us. He laughed a little as if he could read my thoughts and threw his door open. " Come  
on now, Raye," he said as he closed his door. I climbed out of my side and went around  
the car cautiously. He grabbed my hand as soon as I got near him and towed me along behind  
him. He kicked off his shoes as he hit the sandy beach; I did the same. The sand  
was cold between my toes as I walked slowly behind him towards the water. As he got   
nearer, he stripped off his shirt. With a warrior yell, he ran into the water and dove in  
as soon as he got far enough in. " You're insane," I yelled at him from the sand. I dipped  
my toes in the water and instantly pulled them back at the shock of the cold water. " Live  
a little, Raye! Don't be a wussy. That's not a good look for you," he teased as he started  
to float on his back. " I am not a wuss!" I screamed back. I moved closer to the water,   
not really wanting to go in. I glanced up at him again and saw him just watching me,   
beckoning me in. Here goes nothing I thought as I ran in, trying not to think about the  
cold that instantly attacked my body.   
  
He swam over to me as soon as I got deep enough. " You're nuts, you know it," I said when  
he got close enought to hear me. " I know," he replied," but that's part of my charm! Us   
nuts guys have all the fun." I laughed a little at his corny joke. He smiled at me again   
and then looked up at the night sky, now filled full of shiny stars. " Hey, Raye. Look  
up. You can see a falling star," he said as he moved closer to me. How odd I thought.   
There was no way to tell when a star would start to fall, but as soon as I looked up, one  
shot across the sky with a brillant white flash of light. " Make a wish, Raye," he   
whispered. I looked at him, not sure of what to think.   
  
" I wish..."  
  
" Don't, Raye. If I hear your wish, it won't come true. I want all of your wishes to  
come true."  
  
I looked over at him, shocked by what he had just said. Slowly, he made his way back to   
shore, and I followed. As he got out, he bent over and shook his hair out like a dog. He  
looked so funny that I couldn't help but laugh a little. " Let's get you back, Raye,   
before anyone starts to miss you," he said as he picked his sandy shirt off the ground.   
His golden- honey skin showed bright under the moonlight. He really was cute, but at that   
moment when he turned to see if I was coming with him, he looked gorgeous. It was a   
picture of him that I would always remember. He nodded at me as we walked back to his   
truck, where he wrapped me in a big towel that he had sitting in the back seat. We then   
drove back to the hotel in silence.  
  
When we got back, he walked me inside to the lobby before stopping. " I had fun tonight,  
Raye. I have to go work now; it's my favorite shift of the night. I'll see you around   
some time," he said as he leaned over and gave me a little kiss on the cheek. I was too   
shocked to say anything. 


	3. Lions, and Tigers, and Bears, Oh My!

The phone rang loud in my ear the next morning. With a moan, I rolled over and glared  
evilly at the clock/phone. It's big red numbers flashed 5:20 at me. I knocked the phone   
off the hook and yawn before craddling it to my ear. I muddered something towards the   
sound of hello as I rested my head back down. " Morning, Raye! Wakey wakey!" the voice   
at the other end said in an all too cheery voice for that early in the morning.   
" Serena? This had better be good!" I moaned, wanting to strangle for waking me up so   
early." Oh, Raye. Don't be such a big ol' grouch. Lita just called me a few minutes ago.   
We're all booked for some tour this morning. We need to meet out front of the lobby in   
five minutes. See you then, sleepyhead!" she replied as she hung up. I stared at the phone  
in disbelief while it obnoxiouly beeped the dial tone at me. " No frickin way," I yelled   
into my pillow. After regaining control of myself, I rolled out of bed and quickly got   
ready for the tour.  
  
The nine of us and three other elderly couples boarded a big blue bus later that morning   
around 5:30 to go visit the Zoo.   
  
" Hey, Raye. I was talking to that guy who works here last night, the one who you've been  
hanging around a lot."  
  
" And..."  
  
" He sugguested going on this trip. Said it was one of the best Zoo's in the entire world!  
Great place for couples too! Did I ever tell you that he reminds me of my old boyfriend.."  
  
" Lita! Do I look like I care? And another thing, I'm not a couple like all you guys are!  
Why must we always bring that up? I wish I had a decent boyfriend who treats me like the   
goddess I am, but I'm not having much luck with that right now, am I? So, DROP IT!"  
  
" Ok, ok. Calm down. And here I thought you were a morning person."  
  
" Not on vacation I'm not...sorry, I didn't mean to snap like that, Lita. I'm just   
cranky. Got in late last night."  
  
" That's ok. Go to sleep. We'll wake you up when we get there."  
  
* * *  
  
" Please follow me folks!" the tour guide said as she led us through a special entrance.  
We walked through the entrance gate and came face-to-face with a giant green pond full  
of big, pink flamingos. Our guide talked a few minutes and used wild jestures towards  
the birds as she explained a little bit about them. I tuned her out and watched the   
awkward birds as they stood on one foot and bent their necks into odd positions. Mina  
elbowed me to get my attention. I pulled my gaze away from the flamingos and realized   
that the group was moving on. Mina and I quickly caught up with the rest of them as the  
mountain goat of a tour guide charged up the path talking away about the plants in the  
area.  
  
We walked down a long, steep path covered by vegetation on both sides. The path ended up  
near the tigers that sat lazily on some rocks, trying to hide from the burning sun.   
" Looks like Serena," I joked with Lita as I pointed to the one stretched out. " Not   
funny!" squealed Serena as she hugged Darien tighter. Lita and I just laughed as we moved   
on to see the panther in the next exhibit over. I then noticed a food stand up ahead.  
Dying from the heat, I decided to go ahead of the group and buy myself a large drink.   
  
A few minutes later, I was sitting in the cool shade sipping on a Coke. I put my purse   
down on the table and started to dig through it for my sunglasses. Suddenly, a hand   
reached out and grabbed my purse. I looked up to see some kid running away with my purse  
in hand. Infuriated, I stood up too quick and knocked the chair over and started to run  
after him. " Theif! Give it back!" I screamed as I ran after him. He led me on a long  
chase full of twisting turns, only looking back to see how close I was getting once. I   
was about ready to collapse when the kid was knocked down by some tall, brown-haired guy   
who he had ran into. As I ran up, the guy had the kid pinned down to the ground. The kid   
tried his hardest to get free, but gave up after awhile, realizing that he was beat.   
" This yours?" the guy questioned me in a British accent as he held up my purse. " Yes,   
thank you. The little brat stole it and ran off," I replied. His blue eyes looked over me   
for a moment before he looked back down at the purse. A few seconds later,two security   
guards came up to the kid and dragged him away with them, promising that he'd be taken   
care of.  
  
" You should be more careful next time. He almost got away with it. I had my wallet stolen  
from me last week."  
  
" Yes, yes...I will. Nice take down, by the way."  
  
" It was no big deal. I use to play football. I use to live for the thrill of knocking   
people over."  
  
" Is there any way I can repay you? My whole life is practically in this bag right now!"  
  
" Oh, there's no need for that. Was pure luck that I was there."  
  
" Let her purse go!" screamed a voice from behind me. I quickly turned around and saw the  
girls coming up to us with Lita in the lead. " Oh, no.." I muttered as they came closer  
with angry looks on thier faces. " Drop it," Lita demanded as she stood next to me. The  
guy gave me a questioning look. " Lita, don't," I said," It's not what you think. He saved  
my purse. I never did get your name.." Lita backed down instantly, but never fully let  
down her guard. The guy smiled a little and handed over my purse. " Take care," he simply  
said as he walked away from us. I felt bad for him since Lita had practically jumped him.  
He looked back at me before he turned the corner and was out of sight.  
  
" Sorry. I thought he was the purse-napper."  
  
" Oh, it's ok Lita. Hey, where are all the guys?"  
  
" The tour ended and we got a few hours to explore on our own."  
  
" A mighty good thing too. I couldn't keep up with that lady!"  
  
" Poor Amy. The guys went off on their own to go see their close relatives, the monkeys!"  
  
" (laughing) Good one, Mina."  
  
After talking a little while longer, we decided to go to the petting zoo. Halfway there,  
we stopped to buy some drinks. As I suspected, Serena had sneaked over to the ice cream   
cart and bought two ice cream sandwhiches and was chowing down on them by the time I got   
near the front of the line. I rolled my eyes at her before placing the order. I pulled out  
some money to pay for the drinks when I noticed a small piece of paper laying near my  
sunglasses. I quickly grabbed the tray of drinks and put it down on our table. I pulled  
out the paper and unfolded it. I noticed Amy watching me, so I quickly said," Receipt from  
buying the drinks. I want to make sure I got the right amount of change back." She nodded   
her head before going back to studying the map. I flattened out the note. The name Jesse   
was written on it with a small drawing of a purse below it. Next to the drawing was a 7   
digit number, which had to be a phone number. I smiled as I realized that the note was   
from the guy who had saved my purse. 


End file.
